Public and private sector employees, who work weekends, will have a day off to celebrate the Islamic New Year.
Late on Friday, the Federal Authority for Human Resources and Emiratisation announced that Saturday, August 31, would be the start of the Islamic New Year and so any employees who work Saturday would have the day off.
''In light of the announcement of the relevant authorities in the government that Saturday is the first day of Muharram 1441 H, the Hijri new year's holiday will, therefore, be observed on Saturday,"
said FAHR in a statement.
Work will resume as normal on Sunday, September 1, the circular said.
Schools will also open as usual on Sunday with the start of the new academic year for many pupils.
This month, the authority said public and private sectors would enjoy a day off on Muharram 1, Hijri 1441, but did not clarify which day that coincided with on the Gregorian Calendar.
Last year, the private and public sectors were given one day off, a Thursday.
Muslims do not mark Islamic New Year, also known as Al Hijri New Year, with public celebrations or events.
Hotels and bars are usually asked to refrain from serving alcohol and hosting live entertainment.
The Islamic New Year is the first day of the Islamic calendar, or lunar calendar.
On Friday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, wished all Muslims a happy new year filled with tolerance and brotherhood.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, also tweeted his thoughts as the new Hijri year 1441 was ushered in.
He sent his congratulations and also asked God for peace and security for the country, the region and the world.
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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